Shui Xian is one of the signature famous Yu Cha, or Rock Teas from Wu Yi Mountain in Fujian China. The Chinese name of Shui Xian means Water Spirit, and dates back to the early 18th century. The taste is full-bodied with a lingering sweetness felt in the back of your mouth. The aroma and taste remains in your mouth after a few sips. This is a mark of a great tea.

Instructions:

Basic preparation;
Before brewing, hot rinse this tea by pouring boiling water over the leaves and discarding the water. Use two teaspoons of tea per 8-12 oz of water. Steep for 2 minutes with boiling water.

If you are interested in a lighter brew try using 1 teaspoon of dry leaves.

If you are interested in a stronger brew try steeping for 3 minutes.

This tea re-steeps excellently a second and third time. To reuse the same leaves, brew successive infusions, not letting the tea sit out for more than an hour. Infuse the tea in the same way as the first steeping, but increase the steep time by one minute for each infusion.

For a Gong Fu style of preparation;
In this method we brew the tea using either a small clay or porcelain tea pot, or a gai wan. First, warm the set by pouring boiling water into the brewing vessel and then to the pitcher and cups. Discard the water either into your tea tray, or a bowl. Add five to seven grams of tea to the brewing vessel. For oolong and puerh teas such as this, rinse the leaves with boiling water by pouring water over the tea and discarding the water immediately. Brew the tea by adding boiling water directly to the leaves, and allowing to steep for five to ten seconds. Pour the brew from the vessel through a strainer to a pitcher. If using aroma cups, pour the tea to fill the tall cups. Place the drinking cups upside down on the aroma cups. Holding the two tightly together so as to create a seal, flip the cups over so that the drinking cup is now right side up with the aroma cup on top. When ready, gently twist the aroma cup off of the drinking cup and while holding in the palm of your hands, smell the empty cup. The tea is now ready to drink! For successive infusions, brew in the same method, increasing the steeping time slightly as the tea begins to mellow in flavor. Enjoy!